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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Well, by this time next week, I'll be halfway through our first official open week of business. A lot of progress to talk about, though AND still a lot of things to sort through before then as well. Unfortunately, the office did look neat and tidy. My cousin Pam stopped over her Christmas break and cleaned most of the office...and then more shipments and equipment got installed, so it's now back to an unsightly mess (Sorry, Pam.). However, I promise, pictures of the finished (and cleaned) product will be taken and posted for all to see. I'll even compare "before" and "after" photos, which will be fun top see the drastic difference.

The tedious and most boring part of entering all frame and contact lens information that I will be offering has been completed, thank goodness!!! Entering lens styles and coatings still need to be completed, but that can get done in an evening. Also, with Laura's father's help, all of the eyeglass frames have been tagged and ready to go up on the walls, which will happen as soon as the track and pendant lighting is completely installed, which should be completed tomorrow. Once all of the 550+ frames and sunglasses are up on the board, then some major cleaning is in order to get all of the contractor dust and dirt out of here!

I've also written a press release that I'll be sending to the local papers for some hopeful coverage of the practice opening. I'll also be advertising by postcards, newspaper ads, billboards and a local and online grassroots campaign. But you know what? The ABSOLUTE BEST advertising is word-of-mouth. So open your mouths--friends, family, acquaintances, previous patients--and tell everyone you know by every means possible that Dr. Weaver and Weaver Eye Care Associates is "where it's at."

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The office is coming around quite nicely, and it seems that our open for business date will be in the new year. Memorize it:

MONDAY JANUARY 3, 2011

Our HUMONGOUS shipment (three pallets, 15 plus boxes) of equipment came yesterday, and I just finished unpacking and breaking down those boxes. And boy, is my back aching like crazy! (Oh! If anyone needs boxes for shipping or moving, please contact me ASAP! I hate to throw them away, but I will be throwing them out ASAP as well to make room for getting around.) I had operational training on the HRT II instrument this morning, which is a scanning laser that measures the optic nerve for changes in the fine retinal nerves that lead from your eye to your brain. The HRT (Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph) II is one of those handy-dandy instruments used in my glaucoma management and diagnosis regimen.

Everything is completely finished with the office, except for track lighting to highlight the frame displays and pendant lighting over the reception desk. Also, a sign of our logo will be added behind the reception desk at some point. I'd post pictures of the office, but in it's current state, it looks like a whirlwind caught hold of a cardboard box and bubble wrap factory and blew everything about in the reception area. So, I'm going to wait a little while until I can clear out some of this garbage.

Shipments were counted of our sunglasses and frames, which leaves entering all of the information into our practice management software, tagging the frames and placing them up on the board for everyone to see. This will get done before Christmas, leaving cleanup, setup, logistical business operations, training and everything else that I can't possibly plan ahead for to be done the last week of 2010!

On December 29th, installation and setup of the equipment will take place. After that, I'll officially be setup to give an eye exam in my new office!

I also wanted to thank those many patients who have reached out to me before I have even started to advertise...before I'm even open for business! It means a lot that you trust your eyes in my care and made that extra effort to find out where I am and how to contact me. I know that you will be impressed with the new office. As expected, things will be a little shaky as we start out, but things should get smoothed out in the first 2-3 months. I do my best to prepare (Eagle Scout) for things as much as I can, but there's just those things you have to deal with as they happen. I promise to set up appointments shortly, as soon as the ins and outs of my practice management software is learned. Who knows?

Our phone system is working, so please call our office number at (610) 488-5315 to set up an appointment or just to chat. From now on out, I'll be here every day until I open, because there is just so much to do. remember: www.weavereyecare.com for practice information.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

HealthDay has a new article regarding treating amblyopic (lazy eye) young children with acupuncture...seems to help more than just eye patching alone...but OUCH! Original article here => http://tinyurl.com/2aucw23

Monday, December 6, 2010

Hello again, everybody! Things are steamrolling right now with the build-out phase of the office. All of the flooring is installed, along with the majority of the cabinets. Everything looks really good, and I can't wait to get in there and open doors for business. We're still shooting for December 20th, but we'll see about the optical furniture, computer network, phone system and equipment installation. It could be done...

Depending on the employee search for an optician, I may also be looking for a front desk staff person as well. I will keep you informed on the status of that decision, and look for ads in the Reading Eagle, The Merchandiser, Facebook and online. As much I was hoping Craigslist would be cooperative, for some reason, it is not listing any of the help wanted ads that I create. If I get one to successfully post, I'll include the link on here, but right now, it's on my "naughty list."

Promotional materials and some optical supplies were ordered today. Still need to order more, as well as inventory all my darn frames (500+). I'm going to try to rope Laura or Kaylee to help with that one, we'll see how it goes...

Anyway...here are recent photos of the office interior from today, 12/6/10.

Above is the carpet installed in the reception/waiting area and the optical department. A second coat of paint still needs to go up, as well as the base board, which will be added after the reception desk and optical furniture is installed.

Here is the entryway to the business office. The wood looks shiny, but that's just from the flash from the camera. The cabinets need handles installed. The second pic shows the optical lab from the optical department...no sliding window because we didn't want anyone to be disappointed if they tried to order any Chicken McNuggets with the top-of-the-line AR. The third photo is the interior of the optical lab. The shelving on the counter was not installed to make more room for the workspace.

The first photo here is a bit of the lounge area, showing the flooring and cabinets now installed. The second is one of the exam rooms, with the wall cabinet yet to be hung on the wall. The third is from the back exam room, looking down the hall towards the front of the office.

The bathroom now has a functioning sink and toilet, along with ceramic tile as well. The second photo is from the back-most corner of the optical department looking into the reception area and the front windows.

So, the next few weeks are going to be CRAZY busy, finding employees, ordering supplies, calling people, filling out forms, faxing forms, dealing with insurance companies...I won't bore you with the mundane. But this will all be worth it once I open my doors, which I am very excited to do.

I realized this today, but it really feels "right" with opening this practice. Today, I met a rep at the office, and while I was there, the UPS guy dropped off a package...and I just felt this sense of calm around me, despite all of the craziness going on. I can't really describe it other than it was a good feeling, and although I'm not open yet, I'm glad that I made this decision to offer my professional services to Bernville residents, Berks County, old and new patients...pretty much anyone who seeks me out.

Anyway, I have some Christmas shopping that desperately needs to get done, as well as decorating. So keep in touch.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The title pretty much says it all. Weaver Eye Care Associates is looking for an experienced optician for our optical department. There will be an ad running in the Reading Eagle starting either tomorrow or Saturday, but here is a little bit more detail about the position. I'm also posting it to craigslist.org, but "Craig" is having issues showing the ad in his "list" for some stupid reason. So, if you or anyone you know who may be interested, please do not call the office. The phones have yet to be installed. Instead, send the resume to wecajobs@gmail.com for review. Here's the ad:

"Experienced Optician needed for new rural optometry private practice in Bernville, PA. This is a part-time position for Mondays, Tuesday mornings, Wednesdays, Fridays and some Saturday mornings. Electronic medical records and computer practice management system will be used, so computer skills are required. A positive attitude and friendliness is a must.

Primary Duties:

Make patient comfortable in the eyeglass frame, lens, and coatings selection process to facilitate the sale

Troubleshoot patient eyewear complaints

Adjust eyewear and minor repairs

Take accurate optical measurements to eliminate unnecessary remakes

Process, order, and dispense eyewear

Assist doctor with maintaining inventory

Secondary Duties:

Greet and Check-In patients

Answer phones

Garner referrals and new patients

Verify insurance coverage

Schedule/Verify appointments

Place contact lens orders

Check-Out patients, take payments, and schedule follow-up visits

Maintain tidiness of optical and reception area

This is a great opportunity to become part of an exciting, new eye care practice in Berks County in a friendly and relaxed working environment. Resumes accepted by email only, no phone calls. Please list references, work experience and asking hourly wage."

Other than finding the right employee, things are progressing very well with the practice. Shipments are coming in and the office space is shaping up quite nicely. Flooring and cabinetry should be completed in the next few days, while equipment and optical furniture will arrive in the next 2 weeks. I'll get photos up soon as well.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I have a lot for which to be thankful, including family, friends and my health. I'm also thankful for the support with everyone close to me in supporting my decision to open up Weaver Eye Care Associates.

Right now, things are progressing rather quickly as of late. The exam room flooring and ceramic tile flooring should be installed very soon, with the completion of cabinetry and carpet installation to happen soon afterward. I'm also planning on having the optometric equipment delivered on Dec. 8th, with the optical furniture on Dec. 15th. So, depending on how smooth things go in the next few weeks, December 20th could potentially be my first day open for business. I'll be sure to let people know on Facebook, Twitter and online, as well as the traditional channels, such as newspaper, postcard mailings and billboards.

Above, you can see a bit of the back break room and the wall color and drop ceiling work.

The hole in the wall actually will look into the optical laboratory/contact lens room from the optical and reception area. The hallway shot is me standing in the back exam room, with doorways for the second exam room, pretesting and business office on the left, and restroom and optical lab on the right. Laura seems satisfied with Kaylee's inspection of the premises, either that or Kaylee saw something to her left that she's planning on picking up.

And here's a photo looking from the reception area, with the two wall colors on the adjacent walls. The reception desk will be in front of the dark-colored wall, and I'm thinking of having the practice name on this wall as well. There will also be pendant lighting hanging over the reception desk to be installed in the next few weeks. I told Kaylee to "smile for the camera," and she complied, showing off her 8 wonderful teeth. Then she wanted to make sure that everyone knew where the office sign was located.

So, as you can see there's a lot more preparation to take place, but we hope that stop buy to visit, either just to say "hello" or to request our professional eye care service to take care of your eyes. Keep in touch by giving us a call on our office line (610) 488-5315, or make sure to "like" our Facebook Weaver Eye Care Associates page for all of the latest updates.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

If you do a bad thing and get caught by the police in NYC, it looks like you may get a bit more than the usual fingerprinting treatment...original post by the New York Times => http://tinyurl.com/25n4dnn

Sunday, November 14, 2010

This is the official blog of Dr. Weaver, owner and president of Weaver Eye Care Associates in Bernville, PA.

My name is Brendon J. Weaver, OD, an optometrist that has provided eye care to people of Berks county since 2004. I graduated high school from Palmerton Area High School in Carbon county in 1995. I attended Elizabethtown College, graduating cum laude in 1999 with a bachelors of science degree, majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry. From there, I attended the New England College of Optometry in Boston, MA and graduated with my Doctor of Optometry degree in May 2003.

I've practiced in many different optometry environments--private practice, multi-ophthalmology group, commercial. One of my main professional goals was to ultimately enter private practice, mainly to provide the best quality care on my own terms. And since "my own terms" seemed lacking by working for someone else, I've decided to take the next big step. I wanted to create a friendly, inviting, and fun atmosphere, full-service quality optical department with a vast selection of eyeglasses and the latest contact lenses, and use new technological equipment, electronic medical records, and computerized digital acuity charts. Basically, I wanted the practice to be the best that it could be while not sacrificing the patients' best interests.

I live in Bernville, so it made sense to establish something in a community in which I'm planning to spend my entire life. So, after spending months trying to find an ideal practice location, I believe that I found the perfect spot.

If you've driven along rt. 183 and looked at the Blue Mountain Professional Center sign (across the street from Boyer's Food Market), look at it again, more closely, at the top...there's my name and the name of the practice = Weaver Eye Care Associates. It's been up for a couple of months...

Right now, you're probably curious as to when we will be open for business. Currently, we have no set date, but I can say that I am hopeful for mid-December, if not, early January. We have a bit of construction going on. Here's what the building and interior looked like back in September...

Even though the signage was up, the space is not much to look at. You can see that the office was an empty shell--no floor, no walls. Just a vision of what could be. Here's what it looked like in early October...

Walls were getting framed, but things were progressing by the end of October. With the drywall up, the office was starting to take shape...

Yup, that's my daughter in the picture above, supervising the whole thing. So construction-wise, that's how things are going. I have more pictures to post with even more progress, but I'll leave that for another post.

There's a lot more to say, but I'll try to keep this first post as brief as I can, although I am busting at the seems to get the word out to everyone! There's a lot going on as far as getting things organized for opening the business. I'll currently be finishing up my full-time job the end of this week so that I can focus more on the huge task ahead.

I'll be using this blog to keep patients informed of the practice happenings and anything eye-related, like interesting stories relating to the eye, or articles that I write for the local paper. Make sure you also check out the practice's website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Myspace, where content will be added very soon.

I'll be examining eyes from everywhere and anyone: children, adults, new patients, previous patients, patients from the Jefferson township/Bernville area to the Sinking Spring/Wyomissing/Reading area and all over. Obviously, if you'd be interested in seeing me, please call the practice number 610-488-5315 and leave a message with your name, address and phone number so that I can call you as soon as we open our doors for business.

Take care and keep in touch!

Dr. Weaver

(EDIT--I consider myself a decent writer, but I wrote a sentence that contained poor phrasing, causing confusion and misinterpretation to a few readers, which will happen in blog content written on the fly. So to clarify, I had meant that "my own terms" was lacking, and not the "quality of care" was lacking in ANY previous employment situation. Also, specific statements naming a specific Berks county borough changed to be more general in nature to avoid any "competition" complaints as well.)

MISSION STATEMENT: Weaver Eye Care Associates is dedicated to become the reputable leader in eye health and optical services in the community and Berks County, while striving to satisfy all patients’ needs; to establish a growing and loyal patient population that is fostered with excellent customer and public relations; to provide outstanding patient care by utilizing the latest technology in optometry equipment and educational services.